WHAT WE THOUGHT: Oscar de la Renta's clientele is a wealthy one, and this season his muse seemed to be wealth itself. With "Bonfire of the Vanities" hair and make-up, sparkly party girl stockings, massive earring-and-necklace sets, and layer after layer of luxe fabric and fur--there was no respite from richesse.

The clothes no doubt were stunning. In their vaguely jazz-era finery, the models were like Gustav Klimt society muses: They wore day skirts and coats cut below the knee and trimmed with rich fur or flirty pleated chiffon flapper dresses with Joseph Hoffman-esque embroidery, and stoles over satin evening gowns. There was a feeling of Wienmar Germany in the mix, a time and place where decadence was an anecdote for political and economic uncertainty. Sounds familiar.